The rise of contract cheating during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study through the eyes of academics in Kuwait

Teachers’ post-pandemic outlook on the role of Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge in coping with burnout under adverse conditions: How a job demand transformed into a job resource

Introduction

The sudden change of instructional mode from face-to-face to online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic forced teachers to develop their ICT skills and knowledge to cope with newly imposed job pressures. The imbalance between job demands and resources in this context led to teachers’ severe burnout. This retrospective study utilized a mixed methods approach to examine teachers’ coping mechanisms, Technological and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), and job burnout amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Data were gathered from 307 teachers on their experience of emergency remote teaching (ERT) at the time they returned to school in the Spring of 2022. Structural Equation Modeling was used to investigate the mediating role of TPACK in the relationship between coping strategies and burnout.

Results

The results revealed direct effects in the pathways of avoidant, active positive, and evasive coping to burnout highlighting the role of avoidant strategies in harming teachers’ well-being and problem-focused strategies in promoting teachers’ mental health. Also, indirect effects of active positive coping to burnout through TPACK, as a constructive approach to fighting back the crisis, were verified. Further, the direct effect of TPACK on burnout as a hindrance was significant, showing that higher levels of TPACK guaranteed lower job burnout and emotional drain. Analyzing interviews with 31 teachers revealed that TPACK functioned as a stressor at the outset of the pandemic and a resource for overcoming the strain and resolving the challenges in the midst of the crisis till schools reopened.

Discussion

The findings underscore the significant role of teachers’ updated knowledge base in reducing their job pressure and taking proper decisions to cope well with unforeseen circumstances. The study has practical implications for policymakers, teacher educators, and school administrators to pay immediate attention to collective wisdom, organizational support, and technological infrastructures for improving teachers’ well-being and professional success.

Does statistics anxiety impact academic dishonesty? Academic challenges in the age of distance learning

This study discusses the mediating role of statistics anxiety and motivation in the relationship comprising academic dishonesty, personality traits, and previous academic achievements in three different learning environments (Face to Face -F2F, Planned Online Environment – POE, and Emergency Remote Teaching – ERT). Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a broad psychological framework for these phenomena. Data were collected from 649 bachelor-degree students in the Social Sciences in five Israeli academic institutions. Structural equation modelling was employed to investigate the research variables’ relationships. Findings indicate that statistics anxiety mediates the relationship between personality traits and academic dishonesty in the POE and the ERT learning environments. Findings also indicate the relationship between students’ achievements and academic dishonesty, but only in the ERT learning environment. In contrast, motivation mediates the relationship between students’ achievements and statistics anxiety only in the POE learning environment. This study unveils that learning environments determine the mediating role of statistical anxiety. In digital learning environments (POE, ERT), mediation has been found between students’ personality traits and academic dishonesty. No similar parallel mediation could be established in the physical learning environment, F2F. Thus, we conclude that online courses should be designed according to student-centred approaches.